[amused]

Lawsuit-happy people with trumped up damages have made me suspicious.

Agreed. This type of lawsuit are akin to middle of the road professional athletes getting contracts far out of whack from their value. Real lawsuits, where real damages have occured are undermined in the long run because this type of suit pushes calls for tort reform. Well if the judge and jury were doing there job in the first place than tort reform would not be as necessary.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yes, we do have to do something with tort reform. We have to get back to the time when an accident didn't have people immediately wondering how much money they will 'get' for it. It should not be the first thing they think of while they are still brushing themselves off. There has to be an attempt to go on with life first, and lawsuits to settle real impediments to doing that, and then only in cases where people really deliberately caused it. Lots of times, there just isn't a real villain in an accident, bad things sometimes just happen, the world is a risky and unsafe place, and we need to come back to terms with that.